hu wissen 3 (pdf) - Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin

So soll das aufgestockte Gebäude der Parasitologie,
Haus 14 auf dem Campus Nord, in einigen
Jahren aussehen.
This is how Building 14 on Campus Nord will
look in a few years, once it has been expanded.
Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin is planning a new Graduate School that will
be named aer Robert Koch, the famous German doctor, microbiologist and
Nobel laureate. Like him, students at the Robert Koch Graduate School
(RKGS) will focus on fighting the viruses, bacteria and parasites that can
cause dangerous diseases. Alongside Humboldt-Universität and Freie Universität
Berlin, six other research institutions are on board. »This means we can
pool Berlin-based expertise from a wide range of sources,« says Richard Lucius,
Professor of Molecular Parasitology in the Department of Biology at Humboldt-Universität.
The Graduate School will be unique in Germany because it
will directly link basic research with the Charité – Universitätsmedizin Berlin,
meaning that research findings will flow directly into new treatment approaches.
»We are placing great emphasis on clinical research,« says Lucius, who
is the designated coordinator for the Graduate School, which is being proposed
under the Excellence Initiative.
RKGS aims to create a network for doctoral students on nine existing research
programmes and to establish in-depth and sustainable training for
young researchers. »We want to bring together selected PhD students from all
over the world and train them under one roof,« says Lucius. »Among other
things, we’ll be creating nine new professorships and building a new lab building.«
The young researchers will be divided into various working groups and
will spend the majority of their time carrying out their own research.
The new Graduate School will be part of HU’s concept for developing
Campus Nord in Berlin-Mitte into a Life Science Campus. For example, the
Berlin Institute for Medical Systems Biology (BIMSB) at the Max Delbrück
Center for Molecular Medicine (MDC) will find a new home there. Planning is
currently underway and building is due to begin in 2013. A new home for the
Department of Biology is also due to be built on the campus, and its striking
architecture has already earned it a nickname: the Green Amoeba.
The Graduate School’s approach to doctoral teaching is also new. »We
teach research – that is to say, we show our students how to carry out research
in a professional and systematic way,« says Lucius. Lectures by international
guest speakers, top-flight seminar series and discussion events will
round off the Graduate School’s programme. Furthermore, all the doctoral
students will receive advice from external mentors on their professional career
path. The researchers can therefore prepare for their future working lives in
a way that suits their individual preferences and the requirements of the labour
market. »To provide smooth transitions into the world of work, we have
established contact to ten international companies, particularly in the pharmaceutical
industry,« says Lucius.
NATURWISSCHENSCHAFTEN / NATURAL SCIENCES
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